Computer experts warn of Osama bin Laden malware scams

Computer security experts have warned that online scammers may seek to exploit the death of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden to spread malware.

"Watch out for the links you're likely to come across in email or on social networking sites offering you additional coverage of this newsworthy event," Paul Ducklin of computer security company Sophos said in a blog post.

"Many of the links you see will be perfectly legitimate links," Ducklin said. "But at least some are almost certain to be dodgy links, deliberately distributed to trick you into hostile internet territory."

Mike Lennon of SecurityWeek said cybercriminals "typically use very attractive headlines to encourage users to click links and direct them to malware infected Web pages".